Instrument of Grace

The Zucchini Garden

It's supposed to be the Kitchen Garden, but if you were to look at the photo below and think it's the zucchini garden, I'll understand. It looks like a big zucchini with a little ruffle of garden around it.

That zucchini plant is a monster, isn't it? I think it's the lushest, healthiest plant I've ever grown, and that surprises me. Why? Because as lush and healthy as it is, it's still not coming close to producing what the yellow squash is producing, and the yellow squash is hidden behind the zucchini plant. That yellow squash is cranking them out, so much so that we've eaten our fill and shared with several friends. Oh, the zucchini is producing too, and I've got a few extra pounds from zucchini bread to prove it. As much as it's producing, though, the yellow squash still has it beat.

But this post isn't about the zucchini garden. It's really about the Kitchen Garden. It's come a long way this year. We've harvested a lot of lettuce, chard, cucumbers, zucchini, squash and beans. The beans are just coming into their own, and the tomatoes are just starting to ripen. The peppers are almost ready, and the eggplant is getting larger by the day. And we're about to go away for a week, just when this little garden is getting cranked up.

Yes, Garden Man, Garden Punk and I are taking a much deserved vacation, our first in almost five years. We've spent a lot of time visiting family, with all the driving that entails, but this vacation is just for us. We're spending a week in a little town in Maine, and we leave this morning. The Kitchen Garden? It won't be alone. Some folks have pet sitters; we have garden sitters! OK, they are sitting the Mighty Hunter too, but I'm sure they will spend more time with the garden. And after they've been enjoying the bounty I'm sure our little Kitchen Garden will produce, we may not be able to get them to leave!

Off to Maine. See you next week, and happy gardening!

More Wide Views - Front Left Bed

I've noticed by reading other blogs how much I enjoy wider views of the writer's garden. I've also noticed comments on other blogs saying how much other readers enjoy wider views. I took a look around my blog and realized I didn't have very many wider views, and I realized I specialized in flower closeups. Now, there's nothing wrong with closeups, but I'll bet you have no idea what my gardens really look like.

I intend to start remedying that sad situation right now. After all, this is a garden blog not a flower blog. You will get gardens!

I've started by adding a Garden Plot photo album on the right sidebar. I will add to that album in the future so you can get a more complete picture of the gardens I write about. I'll also write more about individual "plots" instead of focusing on just a couple of plants. And yes, I'll show you my horrible design mistakes. Believe me, there are plenty, but every now and then I get it right.

I thought I'd start the "wider views" with a view of the contained garden to the left of my front door. It's surrounded by house and sidewalk, and it's somewhat of a challenge. It's in shade all day, and it's moist shade. So, what's challenging about moist shade, you ask? Well, there is the issue of not enough foundation, or backbone, to the garden. We plan to remedy that issue next spring. We also have a formerly beautiful pink dogwood that's been in decline for a number of years. The cicadas in 2004 and the drought in 2005 really did a number on it and stressed it, and then it got borers. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the borers until it was too late. We've been treating it and hoping for the best because we love the tree. Sadly, it's looking pretty ragged. We're giving it one more year. If it starts to recover, we'll add a couple of evergreens, probably Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken.' If it doesn't recover, we'll replace it and add the laurels.

Here's the current view. That's Schizophragma hydrangeoides 'Moonlight' growing on the wall, and it's a robust climber. The rhododendrons are Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Yaku Princess.' They are very slow growing and should reach a height of about 3 feet. They have pink buds that open white. The upright shrub by the pillar is Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' which has been bothered by mites. This one is doing OK, but its twin on the other side of the door is really struggling. I know these shrubs can do well in my yard because I have one on the side of the house that went from this size to over 7 feet tall in 3 years. This one has grown about 3 inches in the same amount of time.

The large hosta is Gold Standard. I don't know the name of the smaller hosta. I got it from a neighbor, and it's grown very robustly. I plan to divide it next spring and move some to the Azalea Bed where I have a collection of small hostas. The pot contains Gartenmeister Bonstedt fuchsia and coleus. And for ornaments, I have a strategically placed hose reel (center) and some unplanted babies (far left). I love the honeybee stepping stones I got at Surreybrooke Nursery. Five make a perfect path from the walkway to the hose bib. The sleeping cherub was a gift from my dear friend K. 

Here's a closeup of the hosta. I hope you've enjoyed a slightly wider perspective on one of my garden beds.

Kitchen Garden Update, May 25 2009

The Kitchen Garden has had its ups and downs. Let's dispense with the bad news first. I think I've mentioned my Delicata squash didn't germinate. Neither did the bush beans, darn it.  My gem marigolds didn't germinate, either, which makes me wonder what's up with the soil. Something is hitting the eggplant pretty hard, the basil looks like heck. And the arugula bolted. Surprise!

Now the good news. There HAS been germination. I'd really be worrying if I didn't have lettuce and mesclun coming out my ears. The parsley and carrots germinated, too, and I have a few volunteer dill coming up. The cucumber seed I planted germinated as well.  The tomatoes are growing like, well, weeds. Some of the onions made it and some didn't, but I guess you win some and you lose some. I've been thinning lettuce like crazy, and we've been enjoying it on sandwiches. Today, I picked the first tiny crop of Bright Lights chard. As soon as I rip out the arugula, I'll be planting more chard. Any time I can harvest something out of our little garden and enjoy it, I consider that really good news.

I tried sprouting the bush beans and squash on wet paper towels. Most of the beans germinated in 48 hours, but I didn't see any action from the squash seeds.  I went ahead and planted them all again, anyway, and we'll see what happens. I also put out some more onion sets where some failed to thrive.  I planted a little more lettuce and some more parsley and the last of my marigold seeds and then watered everything well.  We're into warmer weather, so I have my fingers crossed things will start to grow. 

Here's how things are looking now:

It's looking a bit skimpy, but give it a couple more weeks. Or so I keep telling myself.

The Azalea Bed

As is most of our garden, the Azalea Bed in the back yard is a work in progress.  As we work to create, unfortunately the squirrels often work to uncreate it.  They shredded a waist-high azalea and reduced it to just the trunk and a few inch-long sprigs in just a weekend. They've not-so-creatively pruned most of the remaining azaleas in the bed.  Liquid Fence seems to deter them a bit, but I've not been using it much with all the rain we've been having.

This spring, we have done a good bit of work in the bed.  We've added six Heuchera (three Tiramisu and three Miracle) another Polemonium, three new miniature Hostas, a Fragrant Dream hosta ;and three small Carex. We've also added one Bloodgood and one Laceleaf Japanese maple. So far, the squirrels are behaving themselves.

Here's a photo taken last Friday, before we planted the maples.  I love the blue urn on the pedestal.

The small tree just to the left of the blue urn is a redbud seedling we brought from our old home. It was in a pot for four years, and it's doubled in size in the year since we planted it. It's surrounded by three Hydrangea macrophylla blue lacecaps. I don't know the variety name. I planted them two years ago from four-inch pots. The first year, the deer ate them to the ground. Last year, we moved them to the Azalea Bed where the Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' hydrangeas were and moved the Oakleaves to the back bed to replace the Lacecaps. They grew quite well, but our dip into below zero temps that one day in January nipped the buds on most of the stems. Still, they are growing quickly, and I'm hoping for some blooms this year.

The green mound to the right of the larger ash tree in the right foreground is a clump of Cranesbill geraniums. I used to know the variety, but I've long lost the name. It's a light pink, and right now it's covered with buds. Just to the left of the ash tree is a grouping of three Hellebores, and again, I don't know the variety.  They were mutts I purchased at the garden center last year. This year, they bloomed for the first time.

All the azaleas in the bed were planted in front of the house when we moved here almost six years ago. They had been trimmed with a chain saw (I kid you not) and were a ragged mess when we moved in. We pruned them and moved them to holding beds in the back until we could sort them by color. We had a number of different coral colored ones, a couple fuschia, two different varieties of pink and one very large white. The large white is over to the left of the Azalea bed. All the fuschia and pink ones are in the bed, and I've given all but two of the coral colored ones away.  Those are going to our neighbor as soon as the ground is workable. 

The bed also has a clump of Jack-in-the-Pulpit we moved from elsewhere in the garden. They were here when we moved here. It also has some purple Heuchera, a variety of Hosta, more Polemonium, an Aruncus dioicus 'Knieffi' and at least one fern. I'm very pleased with how the bed is coming along. Now if we can just get the squirrels to cooperate.

Kitchen Garden Update 17 May 2009

Things are coming along in the Kitchen Garden, but not coming along quite as well as I'd hoped.  The parsley, lettuce and mesclun are up.  The arugula is large enough to begin harvesting. I'm seeing some wisply little leaves telling me the carrots have germinated. I also have a few cucumber seedlings to accompany the plants I purchased. What I don't have is green beans and the delicata squash I planted. No germination. Zero.  I don't know what's up with that. Last year the green beans almost leaped out of the ground.  Maybe it's been too cool. Maybe I need to replant.  But that will have to wait for another day. It rained most of the night, and the ground is soggy.

Here's how it's looking so far.

The two little trees by the hose bib are Bloodgood and Laceleaf Japanese maples I bought from my neighbor who propagates and grows things.  This photo was taken Friday, and Garden Man planted these little trees yesteday in the Azalea bed.  Because it's been cool, most of the plants in the Kitchen Garden are growing, but they are growing slowly.  My basil still looks anemic - it doesn't like cool temps.  Once a few more things are up and growing, I'll be covering the ground with mulch to help with weed control and keeping moisture in.

What worries me most about this scene are all the green leaves on the ground.  They are from our ash trees which seem to be losing all their spring leaves. The leaves seem to have some kind of fungus because they have dark areas and spots on them. Most of our large trees are ash, so I hope they will be OK.

Kitchen Garden Update

Here's a kitchen garden update, although as I write this, the photos have not yet caught up with the reality. 

On Sunday, Garden Man installed the "walkway" in the Kitchen Garden. I didn't really want the walkway, because it takes up too much valuable space, but I tried living with the stepping stones and just wasn't satisfied. Once the walkway was in place, I could start planting. On Sunday, the high here was 93 degrees. In APRIL. I'm just glad the humidity was low and we had a breeze. As the Kitchen Garden is in sun a good bit of the day, I waited until late in the afternoon to plant a few things.

On the left side of the photo, you can see the little Mugho Pine.  Just to the right of the pine is a trio of Greek oregano. To the right of the oregano, with wet soil, is a row of basil. Gotta have basil, and lots of it. I've learned over the years to pinch, pinch, pinch to get fullness and to stake. For some reason, our basil loves to flop over late in the season.  To the right of the basil are two squash plants, one a green zucchini and one a yellow straightneck which have since been shifted slightly so I'd have room for a delicata. I love delicata!  Toward the right side, where the ground is wet, I planted some arugula and chard seedlings. And the Kitchen Garden is well on its way.

Check back soon - see that box sitting up on the deck? There are some more herbs to be planted, and I've found my tomatoes, cucumber and eggplant as well as some marigolds and some seeds. I'm so excited about our garden this year.

Kitchen Garden Redo

Last year, I was lucky enough to be able to secure the services of Garden Rant writer, sustainable gardener and garden coach Susan Harris. I say lucky because we just happen to live in the same area and because she was able to give me some great ideas. One of those ideas was expanding my little kitchen garden, a flower bed, really. I didn't think we'd get to that project this Spring, but we're more than halfway done. I expect to be able to plant by next Sunday.

Here's a view of our kitchen garden last year.

It's a rectangular, mostly south-facing bed against the back of the house. The three green mounds in the center of the photo are miniature boxwoods, and the green mound to the far right is a mugho pine. The overgrown clump to the right of the rightmost boxwood is a bolting parsley.  This photo was taken in early spring after we'd planted three tomatoes and a couple of peppers.  While the bed had a good bit of room, only the left half got enough sun, and there just wasn't enough room for me to grow all the things I wanted.

Susan suggested enlarging the bed into a slightly teardrop shape and bringing it around the heating/cooling units to the bed on the side of the house.  So that's what we are doing. We'll be adding a stone "landing" at the bottom of the steps from the deck at a later date. Here's a photo of the beginning of the expansion. You can see we're adding a good bit of area. You can also see the ugly heating/cooling units, but I don't want to take up the space to screen them. They will have to stay where they are.

After cutting in the edge, we moved all the pots out of the way. Garden Man tilled the grass area so he could rake the grass clumps out.  He also had some roots to remove. Once the offending parties were all taken out, he moved the boxwoods and the mugho pine to a spot in the far left of this photo, in front of the AC units.  I then dug out the rosemary, lavender and oregano and set them aside.  Then Garden Man spread every last bit of our precious compost pile onto the area and tilled it in. 

In this photo, you can see the boxwoods have been moved. We had yet to move all the pots, the pine and the herbs.  Some of the compost has been spread, and there's more in the wheelbarrow.  I think there were a couple more loads, and that was it.  Luckily, we have another pile with last fall's leaves just beginning to break down.

While we were busily working, it began to rain, so I didn't get any photos.  Before the rain began, though, we were able to get all the compost tilled in and the bed smoothed. I also got the lavender, rosemary and oregano replanted.  It continued raining the night after we worked and into the next day. The v-trench at the bed's edge looked like a river.

The next step will be to put a walkway from up in the corner near the deck steps and hose bib down the length of the bed. The bed is so wide now that I can't reach into it from the yard.  I've decided to put a rain barrel where the downspout comes down, next to the deck. The rain barrel should help with water management and provide extra water for dry spells.

So far, I'm very pleased and can't wait to get planting. I'll post more photos when the weather allows.